Process of making roads.



. of Makinglioads, of which as feldspar, granite, gneiss,

d'AGOB :5v 'RO'BESGN, 0F AUSAEB'LE FORKS, NEW YORK.

IQBQGESS OF MAKING ROADS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' 'Patenteol @ctfl list, 1913.,

3% Drawing. Application filed March 6,19 2, Seria No. 682,018. Renewed July 23, 1918. Serial No. 780,815.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB S. Ronnson, a citizen of the United States, residing at Au Sable Forks, in the county of Essex and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Processes the following is a specification.

This invention relates toprocesses of making roads; and it comprises a-process wherein roads made of, or containing clay, such as dirt and loam, or of materials yielding clay, such as the igneous and granitic rocks containing feldspathic and feldspathoid minerals and used for macadamizing, such as granite, gneiss, trap, etc., as well as artificial silicates such as slag, are treated first with saline bodies, and advantageously with nonhygroscopic saline bodies, such as common salt, to produce chemical changes in the claylike colloids and in the complex silicates of such rocks, and are thereafter treated with a waste sulfite liquor preparation; all as hereinafter described and as claimed.

Clay contains very finely divided mineral particles of a more or less colloid character and has in itself comparatively little binding power which is useful under traiiic conditions. On wetting it becomes mud and on drying it becomes cloddy; but the clods or hardened masses break down under traiiic conditions into the original very finely divided particles, with the result of forming dust. The complex silicates of igneous and granitic rocks, containing or composed of feldspathic and feldspathoid minerals, such leucite, trap, syenite, rhyolite, etc., on weathering break down more or less, forming among other things clay (kaolin) and alkali silicates, the complex silicates of such rocks containing alumina and more or less of the alkalis. In so far as the clay so formed is concerned, it is like ordinary clay, but its binding power in a road is somewhat better, probably because of the formation and presence of the alkali compounds such as the silicates. This weathering action however is very slow. Ordinary c ays and the soil of dirt roads also contain tine particles of these complex silicates, feldspar being particularly com mon component.

I have found that clay may be changed in physical character by a treatment with waste sulfite preparations, which cause it to become converted into a hard, compact and dense form, resisting traiiic well without forming mud or dust. And the sulfite waste liquor itself is in turn converted into a form resistant to water as it does not leach out with rain. On feldspathic and feldspathoid minerals, waste sulfite liquor produces a specific action accelerating the breaking down or weathering and clay production and changing the character of the products of breaking down in an advantageous way. Road-making processes involving these discoveries are described and claimed in my copending ap plications 463,709 and 611,163.

Sulfite liquor is the watery waste product from the manufacture of sulfite paper pulp in which wood is heated under pressure with solutions of bisulfites, such as bisulfite of calcium or a mixture of bisulfites of lime and magnesia, dolomitic lime being often used in its preparation. In the pulp-making process about one-half the wood, or the part called lignonc, goes into solution to form new organic sulfurcontaining complexes united with the bases present. These complexes appcar to be, at least in part, in the nature of sulfonic acids and forthe sake of a name the soluble matters are generally called lignosulfonates of the bases present. This term being convenient, it will be used hereinafter. In its original state, the waste liquor is a dilute liquid containing the lignosulionates in such a condition that their valuable properties are not readily available for most purposes. By neutralizing carefully and evaporating at a low temperature, the dilute liquor can be converted into a new, more stable form of much more colloid, adhesive and advantageous properties. Treatment in this way is described in my Patent 833,634.

I have discovered that an advantageous type of roadway may be made by treating roads, made of, or comprising, clay or clayyielding materials, such as described, preliminarily with salt to cause chemical and physical changes therein, and then further treating the roads with waste sulfite liquor preparations. The salt may be applied in a dissolved state, as a solution or brine; or in the solid state. The salt in the present invention exercises an action which places the road-forming materials in a better con dition for the subsequent action of the lignosuit'onatcs. Gommon salt, or sodium chlocontains colloid mineral 'action of the salt 9 ess therefore the salt is rocks, with the cal digester ordinary sulfite liquor,

rid,is the best substance tense in this first step, as it has'little hygroscopic power and has good chemical roperties for thepresent purposes, as wel asbeing cheap. One is to change thexphy'sical character'of the clay in some way,;this being ossiblydue to the iiodies on colloid bodies, since clay always matters. This action per se upon clay for road-making'purposesis not advantageous, since the clay, though not forming as sticky a mud as be fore, dusts freely onldrying; It does how- I ever have an advantage for the present purposes in that it makes the clay more reactive I with the-sulfite liquor to be applied subse quently. An addition of salt to the Waste liquor itself changes it detriment-ally, be-

cause of the stated action of salt'onthe colloids, and it is therefore not desirable 'to' apply the salt and the lignosulfonate simultaneously. The salt should-be allowed to exercise its action first. In the present procapplied to the road first and the road is then allowed to lie for one or more days to permit the action of the salt upon theclay prior to the application of the sulfitc liquor. Upon feldspathio and feldspathoid minerals, as'well as rocks containing them, halt actsacceleratin. I clay, alkali silicates, etc. upon clay and rock, saltv re uires the presence of moisture. After the ap lication therefore in dry weather, the road should be sprinkled or otherwise moistened to allow the salt to react. After treating a dirt road,

or a road macadami'zed with the described t and moisture, and allowing the salt to act, the road should thereafter he treated with suliitc liquor. The neutral. concentrated, liquor of my Fat-cut 833,63d may be used advantageously. 'lhe raw or crude liquor as it comes from the is less advantageous both because less active for the present'purposes and. because of its dilution. The liquor which may be'obtained as a residue from the alcoholic fermentation of waste sulfite liquor is also of improved value for the presentpurposes, since'its contained soluble matter is richer in colloidal lignosulfonates than is that oi by reason of the reinoval of some carbohydrates during the 'rmentation. After removal of the. alcohol and suitable concentration, this residual liquor is especially adapted for use with road materials in the present manner. To quicken the results, an acid-reactin prepa ration may. be applied, but un ess the weather be rainy,the speed of action of the neutral liquid is often suflicient; Sulfite liquor having. an acid reaction quickly produces the action desired in the present invention. j The acidity may be that naturally general action of saline treating roads broadly salt treatment of the roadway.

in facilitating and. the breaking down to form In theseactions.

tomes? guired'it is better to make a preparation mm the concentrated liquor, produced from the fermented or unfermented liquor, as the case may be. An acid-reacting composition suitable for the present purposes may bemade from this liquor by replacing the lime present by a sesquioxid base, such as ferric oxid, chromium oxid or alumina. This may be done by treat/11 g the concentrated liquor with a such as ferric sulfate or alumina sulfate, and removing, if desired, the calcium suliate formed. The liquor thusproduced is desirable for treating roads in and of iself as the sesquioxid bases enhance the colloid properties of the sulfur-containing organic complexes of the sulfite is describedin In prior and copen ding application c6331 in the present case i shall as used in conjunction with the preliminary A still more sulfate or a sesquioxid,

describe it only liquor. its use for v advantageous preparation for "the presentpurposes is made by treating concentrated sulfite waste liquor with amineral' acid,

preferably sulfuric acid, in such an amount lignosulfomc as to set I free at least some acid. 'Slllflll'l'd acid 18 best for this purpose, since it produces caiciumsulfate which may be separated. in practice I find it some M times better not to have all the lignosulionic acid present in free state, but to have some portion of it present in combination with soda, I may therefore advantageously treat the concentrated liquor with sulfate or bisulfate of soda and with sulfuric acid. is best to use the sulfuric acid first-,as con centrated acid otherwise has a tendency to produce local. decomposition at the point where it is introduced. into the liquor. In a typical embodiment of my invention I may treat concentrated sulfite liquor of 30 3.,-

which is a commercial stren th, with sulfuric acid in the proportion of about 2 pounds of adid to pounds of liquor and then with about 3 pounds of bisult'ate of soda in solution. The calcium sulfate produced may be allowed to remain, but it is best removed for utilization elsewhere. I

in a typical embodiment of my road-making process I may first treat a roadway ccn1- posed of, or comprising, clay, or clay-yielding materials, such as described, with one pound of salt ing best applied as a saturated brine. If necessary, the road is then watered and .allowed to stand for three days. Thereafter I treat it with sulfite liquor described in the proportion of one-half gallon of liq: 1 1 at 30 33., or proportionate amounts of per square yard, the salt bcits soluble by any ordinary chemical treatment.

lignosulfonates ofall the Apparently the they may be bases are soluble and although salted out of a solution, they remain soluble in most treatments; But for some reason, in forming a road in the manner described the reciprocal action of the clay and of the clay-yielding materials upon the organic matters of the sulfite liquor is such as to make these organic matters insoluble and cause them to remain in the roadway. This has the result of causing a road so made to be permanent even in wet weather. The preliminary action of salt applied to a road in small quantities upon the minerals therein contained, however, hastens this result and not only causes the road to become solid more quickly but, by terials more reactive, lessens the danger of unchanged lignosulfonates being leached out pri r to the completion of the action of the dag and minerals thereupon.

After the completion of the action of the sulfite liquor upon roads of the character described, the surface is converted "into a hard, compact, coherent, concrete-like mass, little subject to change by tratlic or weathering. The surface may be oiled al'ter sutficient time is given for completion of these actions, but oil should not be applied till attcr the'hard surface is obtained. si..ce its presencewill interfere with the desired rcactions.

1. In the treatment of roads ways comprising clay or. clay-yielding materials. the process which comprises applying salt to such a roadway and thereafter applying a. sullitc waste liquor preparation.

making the road ma-,

and road.

l t t 2. In the treatment of roads and road ways comprising clay or clay-yielding materials, the process which comprises applying salt to such a"roadway and thereafter applying a preparation of concentrated waste sulfite liquor.

3. In the treatment of roads and roadways comprising clay or clay-yielding materials. the process which comprises applying salt to such a roadway and thereafter applying an acid reacting preparation of sulfite waste liquor.

In the treatment of roads and road ways comprising clay or clay-yielding materials, the process which comprises applying a salt to such a roadway and thereafter applying an acid reacting preparation of sulfite waste liquor substantially free of carbohydrates.

5. In the treatment of roads and roadways con'iprising clay or clay-yielding materials, the process which comprises applying a salt to such a roadway and thereafter applying a preparation of concentrated waste sulfite liquor containing free lignosulfonic acids.

6. In the treatment of roads and roadways comprising clay or clay-yielding materials, the process which comprises applying a salt to such a roadway and thereafter applying a preparation of concentrated waste sulfite liquor containing free lignosul'tonic acids and a soda base.

T. In the treatment of roads and road- 'a vs comprising clay or clay-yielding materials, the process which comprises applying a salt. to such a roadway and thereafter applying a preparation of concentrated waste sullite liquor containing free lignosult'onic acids and a soda base but substantially free of carliohydrates.

In testimony whereof, I atlix my signa ture in the presence of two subscribing witncsses.

JACOB S. ROBESON.

\Vit ncsses:

II. J. Lnoonrr, L. 0. Bonus. 

